Fitness Magazine looked at a number of germ and bacteria myths, only to conclude that few (if any) really have any major impact on your life. For example, consider the commonly held belief that your toilet sprays your toothbrush with bacteria every time you flush it. This is true, but it's not as gross and dangerous as it might sound:

Microorganisms are ejected when you flush the toilet and land all over the bathroom, even if you close the lid, according to research by Gerba. But you probably won't get sick from this. "When the toothbrush dries, most of the organisms will die anyway," says Gerba. Just keep your toothbrush as far away from the toilet as possible, or put it in the medicine cabinet, he says. If someone in the house is ill and using the same bathroom as you are, her germs could be spread this way.

Basically, don't flush your toilet right before you brush your teeth. Wash your toothbrush before you use it. These are things you probably do already. The full post over at Fitness Magazine runs down several bacteria- and germ-related myths, whether they're true or not, and what you should do about them. In most cases, you just have to use common sense and stop worrying that everything is going to kill you.